It won’t win beauty contests, but at least it looks like a proper truck, and has the credentials underneath.
Toyota is one of three major automakers still offering an off-road biased SUV, the other two being Nissan (the Xterra) and Chrysler (the Jeep Wrangler). The FJ Cruiser calls up Toyota’s heritage of offering tough-as-nails trucks to go anywhere and do anything, no matter how hard the task or the climate. The old FJ40 Land Cruisers are some of the most famous trucks in the world, but on the surface, the FJ Cruiser seems to be a different story. When I first saw it on sale, I thought it looked like an oversized Tonka Truck, but thanks to the FJ40’s reputation, I figured it was worth a drive, so that’s exactly what I did. Continue reading Test Driven: 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser→
Nick and I spotted this oddball Seventies ride while walking around Carmel during Concours weekend. The Pacer’s story is one of a car that was intended to be ahead of its time, but turned out to be a hodgepodge of components that made a poor whole (too much glass for the interior, one door longer than the other, ugly looks). The Pacer has a following as an offbeat collector car, and seeing one on the street today is relatively uncommon.
So, Maybach, as of six days ago, is on its way out, according to Daimler-Benz. Although the cars are pretty overwhelming to behold and definitely showstoppers, I’m not shedding that big of a tear. Yes, I finally got to drive one a few months back, and yes, I did enjoy it. But, when I look at just how the marque has performed in the market over the past decade, my general feelings about the brand have become more evident. Mercedes-Benz was very ambitious in launching the Maybach name, but not every name can be successful, and here are my thoughts on why I don’t think it succeeded. Continue reading The Death of Maybach: Al’s Thoughts→
Ah, Mercedes-Benz. Just the name brings up thoughts of expensive country clubs, upper-class attitudes, and feelings of being in the 1%. Their flagship sedan, the S-Class, has always been a leader in its market since the 1970s, and despite the high entry price, still sells itself better than the competition. The previous-generation W220 was the one that brought this fantastically flashy flagship into the 21st century, and now some of the most powerful ones (namely, those with some sort of forced induction) can be had for a fraction of their original value. For reasons that shall be discussed later, we’re going to focus on the S55 and S600, as the S65 is significantly harder to find even today. Continue reading Secondhand Saint: Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG, S65 AMG, S600 (2003-2006)→
At Pebble Beach, there are test drives everywhere. Mercedes, of course, decided to one-up everyone else there by getting a primo spot right by the security gate, just past the Palm Club. After a bit of talking with the booth professionals, we signed the papers and gave away our sanity to drive an SLS AMG, CLS63 AMG, and Maybach 57S. The SLS, however, was easily the one I was the most excited about. Continue reading Test Driven: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Al’s Take→
The Beetle’s shape is probably one of the best-known (and in some circles, most reviled) shapes on the road. However, the previous “New Beetle” was getting old by 2011, and Volkswagen took the time to completely redesign it for 2012. Because of its cultural impact over the years (and the fact that I know some people who read this site are interested), I took one for a drive recently. Continue reading Test Driven: 2012 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5→
While we were walking around Greenwich during the Concours this past summer, someone showed up in this Sonnett. There aren’t a lot of these out there, and this one looked quite interesting in purple.
The Delta Integrale, or, one of the last rally cars Lancia ever produced. It can’t be imported legally now, but this petition would make that happen.
As many a car enthusiast is well-aware, the statute of limitations on any car imported to the United States expires after 25 years, which includes safety and emissions regulations, structural requirements such as bumper heights, and many other limitations. They are known as the “gray market” limitations and have created a black market for a good many cars that are not sold on the US domestic market. Currently, Homeland Security funds, which could be better spent elsewhere to perhaps secure our borders or possibly fight terror threats, get spent to keep a few cars out of the ports. Continue reading We, the people of car enthusiasts of America, declare…→
Jaguar has been known for building luxurious cars with plenty of grunt and scads of English class for decades, but the XKR-S represents somewhat uncharted territory for them at this point. The XKR is already a very good luxury sports car, but the boys at Coventry spared no expense in making this hardcore version a delightful, yet still very scary, piece of machinery. If the XJ I drove before I left for Pebble Beach was similar to Dr. Jekyll, this new XKR-S was Mr. Hyde–wide, scary, and aching to cause me personal injury. So, I gladly grabbed the keys and hopped in. Continue reading Test Driven: Jaguar XKR-S, Al’s Take→
Retractable hardtops are a commonplace design in this day and age, but their history stretches back further than the Mercedes SLK. While that car was the first mass-produced retractable roadster that sold in large numbers in the United States, it wasn’t the first convertible with a folding metal top. Ford was the first to bring the retractable hardtop to the United States nearly fifty years earlier. Continue reading Obscure Auto: 1957-1959 Ford Fairlane Skyliner→
The 3-Series has been BMW’s best-known and most well-respected model since it caught on in the United States back in the 1980s. The formula has changed somewhat and the models available are far more extensive than its launch decades back, but the basic idea hasn’t changed–a compact sports sedan with enough appeal and value to draw in the masses and show them how a car is supposed to perform. The E90 design, first introduced back in 2006, is nearing the end of its life on this planet, and as of now, I am unsure that this model, the station wagon, will continue in the United States. With that in mind, I took the wheel of the white estate car seen here. Continue reading Test Driven: 2011 BMW 328i xDrive Sportwagon→
Subaru’s reputation for stout, well-built AWD cars has been a cornerstone of their selling points for over twenty years now. And about a decade ago, the turbocharged Impreza WRX showed that this company could build an excellent all-around sports sedan for not a lot of cash. A few years later, they started turbocharging the Legacy and Outback, and gave a new reason for buyers to switch to a boxer engine and AWD. Continue reading Secondhand Saint: 2005-2009 Subaru Legacy GT (and Spec.B)→
Mind Over Motor 